Two restaurants bid farewell in new year

January 04, 2008|HEIDI PRESCOTT Tribune Columnist

Employees at two area restaurants -- one local and the other national -- rang in their last new year on Tuesday. Locally owned Granger Tap & Grill closed after three decades in business -- making it older than many of the surrounding subdivisions and other Granger businesses, says owner Jim Reynolds. He rattles off the handful of other longtime Granger businesses he believes have been around as long. "Joe had the Amoco, you had Jim the barber, and you had the post office and grocery store, and the nudist colony," Reynolds says. "We were the only restaurant out here." So the decision to close the Granger Tap, 12797 Indiana 23, was not made overnight. In fact, Reynolds says it was a couple of years in the making. The restaurant business has changed, with more schedule and time demands on people and their families, and high gas prices have taken their toll more recently, he says. "People are going out to eat more, but they're grabbing something quick and taking it home. You don't have the people coming in and sitting down for a steak as much any more," Reynolds says. "And there's a lot of competition out here. But I got to meet a lot of people," he says, "and it just started hitting me a couple of weeks ago, about how many friendships you build in this business. I came to work to see my friends." Reynolds is preparing to sell tables, chairs, a double oven, cheese melters and other furnishings and equipment, at an auction at 1 p.m. Jan. 21, before the new owners move in. That's right, the building is not expected to stand idle for long. Reynolds is selling it to the co-owners of Between the Buns. While the paperwork still has to be finalized, he anticipates a smooth transition and says renovations should be under way soon. Phil Schreiber, co-owner of Between the Buns, says it's premature to comment about the opening of what would be the fifth Between the Buns restaurant. But it seems the location would complement rather than cannibalize the restaurant's other locations. Between the Buns, which opened its first location in 1985 in Osceola, operates locations in Mishawaka, South Bend and Elkhart. Take a look at what could be its next restaurant site on our blog. Grape Road also lost one of its longtime staples this week. Bakers Square served its final slice of pie Tuesday night at 5758 Grape Road, near the northeast corner of Grape and Indian Ridge Boulevard. The Mishawaka restaurant opened in fall 1992 at Indian Ridge Plaza, under separate ownership from the rest of the shopping center. It's the reason the restaurant is located away from the adjacent stores. Chase Properties of Cleveland owns the strip center, while the Mishawaka planning department says a Denver-based business owns the restaurant building. Already, inquiries have been made about the building and what it could contain, city officials say. Another restaurant is likely. Hmm... who would make a nice fit inside the 5,122-square-foot building? White Castle is probably out because it generally only needs about 3,000 square feet, but Red Robin and Ruby Tuesday both locate in 5,000- to 6,000-square-foot buildings. Lots of readers have indicated they'd like one here. Or maybe a local restaurant will take its place. Check back for the latest. Mishawaka Macy's is OK Late last week, Macy's announced it is closing nine underperforming stores, including the Washington Square location in Indianapolis. Some area shoppers wondered if the announcement affected the location at Mishawaka's University Park Mall. It doesn't. Return of the Live Chat The chat is back. After a holiday hiatus, join in the retail discussion at noon Tuesday. If you have a pressing retail question or comment before then, visit our blog at www.southbendtribune.com/blogs. You'll get the latest local retail news there. This week, you'll see an old holiday photo at Scottsdale Mall there. Drop us a line if you'd like to see other old photos posted online in the future. Heidi Prescott's Market Basket column appears on Fridays and Sundays. When she's not out shopping, you can contact her at hprescott@sbtinfo.com or at (574) 235-6070. Discuss retail on her blog at www.southbendtribune.com/blogs or join her during a Live Chat at noon Tuesdays.